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Mark Fellows, 38 and of Sandy Lane West in Warrington, is accused of the murders of John Kinsella and Paul Massey and the attempted murder of Wendy Owen. He denies all allegations (Image: liverpool echo)

Boyle robbed a petrol station with four other men in 1999 and, in 2011, was driving a hire vehicle on false plates, stopped by police in Whiston.

An unidentified passenger fled and ditched a wig and glasses, before escaping. He left behind a Baikal loaded handgun, equipped with a silencer, and 82 rounds in a bag.

Boyle’s fingerprints were on the bag and his DNA was on the working firearm. He was convicted of possessing a handgun and ammunition without a certificate at trial.

In 2011 he and a man called Andrew Johansson stole £1,000 of cigarettes from an unattended petrol station in Cornwall, using a car with false plates.

In November 2015, police searched his home and found 22.5g of cocaine at 64% purity, which he admitted dealing, plus cash, digital scales and multiple phones.

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Steven Boyle, 35 and of Sandy Way in Heywood, Manchester, is accused of the murders of John Kinsella and Paul Massey and the attempted murder of Wendy Owen. He denies all three allegations (Image: liverpool echo)

Mr Greaney listed people connected to The A Team in Salford, including Britton, some of whom were photographed making "A" signs with their fingers.

He said until July 2014, A Team members were on friendly terms with Carroll and a man called Jamie Rothwell, both known associates of Fellows.

But he said violent incidents, which police believed to be "tit for tat" between The A Team and others associated with Carroll, took place in 2015.

He said Fellows received a formal 'threat to life' warning from police in June 2015, after an informal one in March, and graffiti in the area referred to the "fall out".

Mr Greaney said: "It was insulting about Cazza - Carroll - calling him a faggot and coward and so on."

The court heard Carroll was the godfather to Rothwell's daughter and Rothwell was shot outside a car wash in Ashton-in-Makerfield in March 2015.

Mr Greaney said Massey was seen as a "mentor" to Britton, who along with other A Team associates attended his funeral, when Kinsella was a pallbearer.

Mr Greaney said "well-known" Massey was jailed for 14 years for wounding with intent in 1999, later reduced to 10 years on appeal, and "had many enemies".

He was issued with numerous 'threat to life warnings' by police, ran security companies controlling nightclubs and was being investigated for money laundering.

Mr Greaney said Greater Manchester Police received the names of 112 people said to be responsible for carrying out or organising his shooting.

He said: "Massey was a public figure with a high profile. He was characterised in the media as “Mr Big”. He had been the subject of numerous newspaper articles dealing with his criminal activity.

"He had said publicly that he had known for years that he could be shot dead at any time. He had survived previous attempts on his life including with a machine gun."

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Mr Greaney said Kinsella assaulted a police officer in 1987 and was jailed for nine years for attempted robbery with a firearm in 1991.

Kinsella was jailed for 10 years for robbery in 2008, after he had fled the UK and was extradited from the Netherlands.

Mr Greaney said: "The police had information, at the time of his death, that John Kinsella was a 'Merseyside-based career criminal'.

"He was regarded by the authorities as a gangland ‘enforcer’ who had been involved with firearms.

"After his murder, on 5th May 2018, his house on Loyola Hey was searched and the police found £10,000 cash under the sink in the kitchen."

He said police had information that he had criminal connections in Holland; was still criminally active; had significant debts in connection with crime; was involved in an acid attack on Stephen Lydiate at Massey's funeral; and had a separate mobile phone dedicated for criminal use.

Mr Greaney said: "The police had information that John Kinsella had been killed as the result of his criminal activity and the police received intelligence that he had a number of enemies that wanted him dead."

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Left, a photo from 2008 of John Kinsella. Right, pictured are forensic investigators at the scene, after police closed off part of the slip-road onto the M62 near the roundabout junction with Watkinson Way (Image: Lincolnshire Police/PA Wire, Liverpool Echo)

He said Lydiate - the brother of Massey's partner Louise - had been interviewed by police about Massey's murder, but refused to co-operate.

Mr Greaney said police had intelligence he was involved in Massey's murder, but he had never been charged with any offence over it.

He said: “Stephen Lydiate is a violent man. He was himself the victim of a shooting on 25th April 1999 at The Ship Public House, Salford. He refused to cooperate with the police in their investigation.

"Stephen Lydiate arranged the kidnap and torture of several individuals in a plan to murder the person he believed had shot him."